Burnerfriends on SoundBetter

80s influenced but always moving forward: Organically sourced grooves, farm-fresh beats, full-phat arrangements, sonic solutions and audio trickery. Wintery pop-songs. The inside-out sound. The underground sound from the other side.

"Beautiful bass-heavy 80s noise." Time-Out

"Beautifully crafted... Abstract guitars and Post-Punk bass-lines swirl around massive, sound system crushing beats..." Stray Recordings

"Milk (Burnerfriends) has a talent for creating exciting electronic rock fields with edges, a noisy touch and haunting atmospheres; it's like velvety, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate ice cream with highly crispy candy splinters." Virus Magazine.

"Some artists would make a great X-Files plot-line." Garage London

"Like some kind of beautiful crime..." NME

"Milk (Burnerfriends) blends elements of '80s electronica with echoing vocals and a carnal groove. I'm thinking bass from The Cure with Orange Juice vocals and New Order beats, but bring into that mix a trance-like early '90s Curve aura, and you have something really interesting going on. The undulating melodic motion of this music glides across the skin like velvet." My Aural Fixation.

"Delicate, filthy, post coital purr." Bubblegum Slut.

"Tracks you can get lost in, that transport you away from the humdrum routine of every day life to another plane of existence...beautiful, calming and restful. like a gang of tripped out Cistercian monks playing with electrical tools and gently beating a radiator with a rubber hammer. sheer electro bliss." The Devil Has The Best Tuna.

Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.

Credits

Reviews

Endorse Burnerfriends

Interview with Burnerfriends

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: It's easy, just a bunch of plug-ins and it's not creative.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Go for someone like me if you're looking for a creative that can unlock the potential of your sound.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Emphasize the flaws.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Organic Electronics, heavyweight beats, Alt Rock, Dreampop / Chillwave textures.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Fresh perspective, refreshing tricks, broad spectrum of influences and gear.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Mastered levels, hidden-depths, grime and shine, fresh beats, original ideas.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: A beautiful mess. Carefully chosen eclectic gear assembled over ten years, piles of cables, several mixing desks (Alesis, Mackie Onxy), Focusrite + Tascam AIs, 88 weighted keys, 2 x MacBook Pros, 3 x Dells running versions of Logic Pro X and 9), reel to reel, ghetto blaster, drum-synths, percussion instruments, bass drum, vintage mics (Sennheisers, Coles Commentators, harmonica mics), Vox / Wasabi / Boss / Fuzz Pi stomp boxes, Korg FX, Roland SH-101, Ensoniq SQ-80s, unusual guitars, analog + digital gear. Various speakers (up to 1200 watt stacks), and a very high volume smoke machine... Producers who only appear to use an iMac and an Akai controller make me smile: that spotless, uncluttered workspace doesn't look like it gets much use.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Mix-fix and master. Build a fresh, fully-realised, full-phat, detailed broadcast-ready song from stems, Logic Pro X project, demo or rough sketch.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: K Martin (The Bug / King Midas Sound) for his deep, heavyweight bass productions and sonic explorations.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Aisa (Moi Saint) is a great producer / performer.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I'll honour your idea with care and attention to detail. I'll bring some fresh ingredients and I'll always balance the grit with the shimmer. Your work and your ideas will always take priority over my personal tastes.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Let the initial idea or recording lead the way: Be true to the essence of the song, flesh out the concept, allow the mix to simmer, then look at adding herbs and spices for some hidden depths, twists and turns.
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Early Stray Dog City (Trip-Hop / Grime / Shoegrime / Soundscape) sessions that were freestyle unedited takes: live mix from the desk to DAT / broadcast with no edits: combining DJ sets with live instruments, MIDI gear etc. I mixed + programmed beats + bass / guitar / drums.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both: analog for grit, digital for sheen. I've worked hard to find analog and digital gear that work well together. For example: Korg digital FX work well with analog stomp boxes; Analog Mackie and Alesis desks work well with Logic Pro and Focusrite digital audio devices.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Mackie mixing desk // Ensoniq SQ-80 // Roland SP-808 // Koass Pad // MacBook Pro.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: Ten years writing, performing, mix-fixing, gig-booking, sonic sculpting, new artist supporting, sound discovering: searching the alchemy of sound.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Autumnal grooves. Off-world sonics. Shoegrime. Underground, weather-beaten sounds.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: A late-night, shadowy Grindcore hip-hop ep; a compilation of Burnerfriends Grime and Shine cuts w grrl MCs; a set of cinematic drone-scapes; DJ set for a couple of live stream sets.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: The Hyperdub label, Scorn, Massive Attack, Young Fathers, Curve, Prodigy, Moor Mother, Autetchre, Aphex Twin, Ms. Dynamite, The Hafler Trio, Martin Hannett, early Grimes, Cocteau Twins, Billie Eilish, Tricky, The Bug, King Midas Sound, Witchman, DJ Shadow, Kate Bush, Tom Waits, 4 A D, Ninja Tune, Warp, Post-Punk, early 90s Trance and House, various soundtrack composers.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The sonic journey: every project presents the opportunity to learn something new, explore new territory: honour influences by moving them forward and mixing them up.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: Tell me your story, not just influences but motivations; what sounds do you like / dislike?
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Q: How do you do your kicks? A: leave them outside over-night